Thucydides essay

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Table of Contents

How does Thucydides conceive of the role of justice among political communities? In this essay, you will attempt to figure out what Thucydides thinks is the role of justice in politics. Are all invocations of justice merely smokescreens for the play of power and interest? Does Thucydides agree with the Athenian thesis on justice?

Instructions

  • Do some research. Read the assigned reading, and read beyond the assigned reading if possible. Take a look at some of the articles and books listed below, or find your own if you think those articles listed below are not helpful.
  • After reading and doing your research, decide on a thesis: Thucydides thinks the role of justice is X or Y. (E.g., he does not think justice plays much of a role in politics).
  • Remember that Thucydides hardly ever speaks in his own name: he puts words in the mouths of others, according to what he thinks the situation and character of the speakers demanded. So he shows what he thinks, but he doesn't say it. Just because he has the Athenians say that the strong lord it over the weak at Melos does not mean that is what he thinks. (Of course, it does not mean that is not what he thinks either).
  • Support your view with quotations and citations from Thucydides. Do not quote my lectures. Use other scholarly articles as needed, but remember that scholars often disagree.
  • The best way of quoting Thucydides is to use book and chapter number: thus the Melian dialogue runs from 5.84 to 5.116.
  • Structure your argument so as to support your thesis. Do not include irrelevant information (like, e.g., who Thucydides was) unless you are trying to use that information to make a point.
  • Your concluding sections may contain your own evaluation of Thucydides' view: e.g., you think that what Thucydides shows about justice is untrue because X or Y. A conclusion need not simply repeat something you have already said, unless there is some gain in summarizing.
  • If you get stuck, don't hesitate to contact the instructor.

Resources

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  • Alker, Hayward R. 1988. “The Dialectical Logic of Thucydides' Melian Dialogue.” The American Political Science Review 82(3):805-820. Link.
  • Ahrensdorf, Peter J. 1997. “Thucydides' Realistic Critique of Realism.” Polity 30(2):231-265. Link.
  • Fitzsimons, M. A. 1975. “Thucydides: History, Science and Power.” The Review of Politics 37(3):377-397. Link.
  • Forde, Steven. 1995. “International Realism and the Science of Politics: Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Neorealism.” International Studies Quarterly 39(2):141-160. Link.
  • Forde, Steven. 1986. “Thucydides on the Causes of Athenian Imperialism.” The American Political Science Review 80(2):433-448. Link.
  • Forde, Steven. 1992. “Varieties of Realism: Thucydides and Machiavelli.” The Journal of Politics 54(2):372-393. link.
  • Garst, Daniel. 1989. “Thucydides and Neorealism.” International Studies Quarterly 33(1):3-27. Link.
  • Hornblower, Simon. 1987. Thucydides. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Links: Library catalog.
A classicist's account of the life, historical context, and work of Thucydides.
  • Laurie M. Johnson Bagby. 1994. “The Use and Abuse of Thucydides in International Relations.” International Organization 48(1):131-153. Link.
  • Kateb, George. 1964. “Thucydides' History: A Manual of Statecraft.” Political Science Quarterly 79(4):481-503. Link.
  • Lebow, Richard Ned. 2001. “Thucydides the Constructivist.” The American Political Science Review 95(3):547-560. Link.
  • Monoson, S. Sara, and Michael Loriaux. 1998. “The Illusion of Power and the Disruption of Moral Norms: Thucydides' Critique of Periclean Policy.” The American Political Science Review 92(2):285-297. Link.
  • Orwin, Clifford. 1986. “Justifying Empire: The Speech of the Athenians at Sparta and the Problem of Justice in Thucydides.” The Journal of Politics 48(1):72-85. Link.
  • Orwin, Clifford. 1989. “Piety, Justice, and the Necessities of War: Thucydides' Delian Debate.” The American Political Science Review 83(1):233-239. Link.
  • Orwin, Clifford. 1988. “Stasis and Plague: Thucydides on the Dissolution of Society.” The Journal of Politics 50(4):831-847. Link.
  • Orwin, Clifford. 1984. “The Just and the Advantageous in Thucydides: The Case of the Mytilenaian Debate.” The American Political Science Review 78(2):485-494. Link.
  • Orwin, Clifford. 1989. “Thucydides' Contest: Thucydidean "Methodology" in Context.” The Review of Politics 51(3):345-364. Link.
  • Orwin, Clifford. 1994. The Humanity of Thucydides. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Links: Library catalog.
A thoughtful examination of the political philosophy revealed in Thucydides' work.
  • Palmer, Michael. 1989. “Machiavellian virtù and Thucydidean aretē: Traditional Virtue and Political Wisdom in Thucydides.” The Review of Politics 51(3):365-385. Link.
  • Reeve, C. D. C. 1999. “Thucydides on Human Nature.” Political Theory 27(4):435-446. Link.
  • Saxonhouse, Arlene W. 1978. “Nature & Convention in Thucydides' History.” Polity 10(4):461-487. Link.